A four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in a school in Kolkata’s Ranikuthi area by a male teacher. The father of the kindergarten student alleged that the physical education teacher sexually abused his daughter inside the school toilet on Thursday.

A complaint has been lodged against the accused teacher at Jadavpur Police Station and the girl has been taken to SSKM Hospital for a medical check-up. A four-member medical team has also been set up to examine the child. The accused teacher has been taken to the police station for questioning.

“Yesterday, there were some blood stains on her clothes when she came home from school. We thought she might have contracted some infection. We took her to a hospital and doctors said there was some foul play and the child was sexually abused. Later, our daughter said she was lured by her physical education teacher to the school toilet where she was assaulted. We have lodged a complaint against the accused teacher at Jadavpur Police Station,” said the father of the four-year-child.

Parents of students protested along with the minor’s father outside the school on Friday morning demanding exemplary punishment for the accused teacher and a statement from school authorities.

In 2014, a similar complaint had been lodged against one of the teachers of the popular south Kolkata school. Parents of the students have been demanding security for their children inside the school for the past three years.

West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee assured that strong action will be taken against the accused teacher, if found guilty. “I have no words to condemn such horrific and barbaric incident. The accused teacher must be subjected to strong punishment. We will also monitor the role played by the school authorities and actions taken by them to ensure the safety and security of students. Action will be taken against the school if it fails to give protection to its students. I am praying for the speedy recovery of the child,” Chatteejee said.

The incident led to protests by parents of the students. “We will not send our children to the school unless their security is ensured. We also demand a statement from the school authority,” said one of the protesting parents on condition of anonymity.

Principal of the school, Sharmila Nath, told reporters that they are conducting a probe into the matter. “We are conducting an investigation into this. We will be able to speak on the matter once the investigation is over and we get its report. But I will say that security of our students is our top priority and we will take adequate measures to ensure that. We will install CCTV cameras inside the school,” the principal said. She informed that the accused teacher has been teaching at the school for past 6-7 years and there were no such allegations against him in that period.